I have egg in my shoe. Now my toes are sticky. But after cracking hundreds of dozens of eggs to make sure that every bag of our Bacon Cheeseburger cookies has an egg in it, odds are one is bound to land in my flip flop.

Eggs are sticky stuff. When I walk, my flip flop is now making a thwip thwap sound. But I’d rather have egg stuck between my toes than most stuff that’s found in other dog treat companies’ kitchens.

This new brand called Milo’s Kitchen is one of them.

When I introduce Goodness Gracious to people I generally say: “if it’s not in your kitchen, it’s not in ours.” I’m not sure who this Milo character is – actually I do know – but his kitchen sounds more like a chemistry lab to me. Trust me. You don’t have in your kitchen what he has in his… Or actually, what Del Monte has in theirs… Milo’s Kitchen, like Milk Bones, is a Del Monte brand. Milo’s Kitchen – the one that produces the Chicken Jerky – is also based in China. (But we’ll get to the FDA warning about China’s chicken jerky treats in a second.)

To help you understand what’s in Milo’s Kitchen, I’ve deciphered his ingredients for you. And to give you some perspective, I’ve compared the ingredients of Milo’s chicken and beef jerky to Goodness Gracious’s.

We make jerky. We call them Hula Lula’s. Our Hula Lula Chicken is just one ingredient: USDA certified USA boneless, skinless chicken breast. The kind you throw on the grill and have for dinner. We just slice it and dehydrate it to make jerky for dogs. Our Hula Lula Beef is also just one ingredient: USDA certified USA beef. It’s the cut you would normally roast for dinner. We just trim it, slice it and dehydrate it. That’s all folks.

Milo’s does something else in their kitchens. Milo’s Chinese chicken jerky has seven ingredients and their beef jerky has 13. And while they claim to use no fillers, they in fact do. Glycerin is a sugar and a filler, and it’s ingredient #2 in their chicken jerky.

Below is a list of all the ingredients in Milo’s Kitchen and which of their four treats contain the stuff. Below the chart is a description of exactly what each ingredient is and whether it might be harmful.

Ingredient

Chicken Jerky

Beef Jerky

Beef Sausages

Chicken Meatballs

Chicken Breast

X

Beef

X

X

X

Chicken

X

Glycerin

X

X

Sugar

X

X

X

X

Salt

X

X

X

X

Natural Flavors

X

X

Mixed Tocopherols

X

Monoglyceride

X

X

X

Garlic Powder

X

X

X

Natural Smoke Flavor

X

X

Potassium Sorbate

X

X

Caramel Color

X

Sodium Erythorbate

X

X

Sodium Nitrite

X

X

BHA

X

X

X

Onion Extract

X

X

X

Soy Grits

X

X

Propylene Glycol

X

Rice

X

Citric Acid

X

Textured Vegetable Protein

X

Sorbic Acid

X

Glycerin: is a sugar and a filler. There’s a lot of glycerin coming into pet food / animal feed now that’s laced with methanol. This glycerin is a byproduct of biodiesel production. Methanol is highly toxic. You can read more about it on another blog post.

Sugar: Can cause obesity, dental problems and diabetes.

Salt: Dogs should not eat salt. Eating salt can cause excessive thirst and urination and lead to sodium ion poisoning. Symptoms of too much salt include vomiting, diarrhea, depression, tremors, elevated body temperature, and seizures. It may even cause death.

Natural Flavors: Can be used to hide a bunch of undesirable stuff in dog treats like MSG and animal digestive tract contents. MSG is no good because it is addictive and can more than triple insulin levels making even the most physically active animals fat. According to recent reports, more than 50% of our pets are obese. Obesity is linked with cancer, and cancer is the #1 killer of our pets; 50% of them die from it by some estimates. And animal digests are exactly that. The FDA allows them to be included in pet food as “natural flavors.” According to the FDA “chicken digest” for instance, used to make a chicken flavored pet food “contains no actual chicken.”

Mixed Tocopherols: Also called Vitamin E is an antioxidant. And as antioxidants go, this one is a good, safe choice.

Monoglyceride: Is an additive used to emulsify fat and water. It is also a fancy way of not saying trans fats.

Garlic Powder: Garlic (like onions) destroys red blood cells in dogs and leads to anemia. A large dose or small doses over time will poison a dog. Symptoms of anemia include weakness, vomiting, little interest in food, dullness, and breathlessness.

Natural Smoke Flavor: May contain risky levels of benzo(a)pryene (associated various cancers including liver, lymph, intestine, stomach, skin and lung) and formaldehyde. The phenols (aromatic substances) present in smoke flavoring also may react with the sodium nitrite present to catalyze the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines.

Potassium Sorbate: is an artificial preservative used to curb yeast and mold. As artificial preservatives go, it is regarded as one of the less offensive, safer choices. It is a salt derived from sorbic acid. Prolonged use of the preservative could lead to allergic reactions, nausea, diarrhea and nutrient loss in food.

Caramel Color: Is a food coloring additive made with ammonia and/or sulfites that is associated with cancer (of the lung, liver and thyroid, and leukemia). It should be avoided. In fact if current legislation in California passes, popular colas (like Coke and Pepsi) would need to bear cancer warnings on the labels because of the levels of caramel coloring present.

Sodium Erythorbate: Is an additive with no nutritional value. It is used to maintain color and retard the formation of harmful nitrosamines present from the use of nitrites and the chemical reactions with smoke flavorings and other ingredients.

Sodium Nitrite: is a preservative linked with cancer (gastric, esophageal, and colorectal), diabetes and other diseases.

BHA: Is a preservative that’s believed to cause stomach cancer as well as liver and kidney stress. It is well known a one of the top ten toxic preservatives.

Soy Grits: Used as cheap fillers, soy, wheat and corn should be avoided as dogs often cannot digest these ingredients, and they can often be allergic to them. Soy, wheat and corn can cause gastrointestinal distress, skin irritations and more.

Propylene Glycol: Is a kin of anti-freeze that is toxic and in high enough amounts will kill a pet. Although the FDA has listed it with a GRAS status (i.e. “generally recognized as safe”) in certain amounts it can cause abnormalities in the liver and kidney disease, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, hemorrhoids, abdominal cramping, diarrhea and polyps in the stomach.

Rice: is a grain that’s often used as a filler.

Citric Acid: Widely regarded as safe, it is a flavor agent and an antioxidant used to prevent foods from going bad.

Textured Vegetable Protein: Is MSG. It’s also a derivative of soy and problematic for most dogs as they cannot digest soy, corn or wheat.

Sorbic Acid: Is a preservative used to prevent fungal growth that the US FDA generally regards as safe. It is a possible skin irritant and may cause rashes, asthma and hyperactivity.

Those are the ingredients in Milo’s Kitchen. Fourteen (14) of the 20 ingredients identified above are stuff you could never buy on a grocery store shelf, nor stock in your pantry or fridge. And while you may have a handful of the other ingredients in your own kitchen, they aren’t necessarily the ones you’d feed your dog. Onions, garlic, salt, sugar, liquid smoke all fall into that category.

Now what about that FDA warning on chicken jerky from China? As I thiwp thwap around the Goodness Gracious kitchen I have that song from Barenaked Ladies in my head…

Left untreated, Fanconi Syndrome can stop a dog’s brain from tickin,’ and Fanconi’s is what is being reported in dogs consuming chicken jerky from China. Typically an inherited disease, Fanconi Syndrome can be mimicked by toxins. It affects the kidneys and causes them to leak glucose (sugar) and other electrolytes into the urine. Dogs typically show signs of vomiting, lethargy, decreased activity, increased water consumption and increased urination, and anorexia. If detected and treated by a veterinarian, dogs can recover. Cases of Fanconi Syndrome occurring after consumption of chicken jerky from China have been reported in the US, Canada and Australia. In September 2007 the FDA and the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine issued a warning about these products and the FDA is now (in 2012) investigating the issue. The exact toxin causing the disease, however, has not yet been identified. For more information, please refer to:

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About Amy Renz

Amy is the CEO and Pack Leader of Goodness Gracious, LLC (www.GoodnessGraciousTreats.com) and we save lives. We make healthy 100% human-grade, USDA certified, USA sourced dog and cat treats, and give 51% of our profits to local animal shelters, rescues and spay/neuter programs in communities where our treats are sold. Our products include single-ingredient jerky and gluten free biscuits that pets love, and parents love to give.
Amy is a Marathoner, a slalom skier, but first a parent to her pack of three beautiful canines.
Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/goodnessgracioustreats
www.GoodnessGraciousTreats.com
www.run4rescue.org
Twitter @Goodnssgracious

48 Responses to It might be in Milo’s Kitchen but it’s probably not in yours…

Thank you for making safe USA made treats! I gave my little dog Milo’s Kitchen chicken jerkey and she is now going through kidney failure. I only gave her the treats a couple of times, but they still did their damage. Please do not buy products from China! They are not safe!

Jenn, I’m so sorry to hear that your dog is sick. Our best wishes for her health and well being. Thank you for taking the time to post here. I would urge your vet to report these findings. To date claims of Franconi’s syndrome or other health related issues have largely been coming from Australia and Canada. The American College of Veterinary Medicine and the FDA need to know about illnesses that are happening here too.

I too gave my dog Milo’s Kitchen Chicken Jerky and he is also going through kidney failure as I write this. Same thing, he only had a couple of them and two days later he is in the hospital with end stage renal failure. The Vets say he ate something toxic. My dog, a greyhound, is never off the leash or left in a fenced yard unattended and I narrowed it down to these treats. I did a web search to see if there were any other cases like mine and I did not have to go far. Something needs to be done about this.

I just finished giving my dogs Milo’s Kitchen Chicken Treat. More than 1 each, now I’m scared! People really need to hit these companies in the pocket book to teach them a lesson. Where are the recalls for it? Right now it’s quietly making news that they are toxic for the our pets.

I have a little Shih-Tzu who was in great health 12 years old, and she started having a variety of problems. Her diagnosis was Cushings & Diabetes, but this all started around the time I started giving her Milo’s treats (chicken jerky and chicken meatballs). I now wonder if what she really has is toxic poisoning from these treats, as she has all the symptoms you indicate: lethargy, increased water consumption and unrination, poor appetite, etc. I go to the Vet’s EVERY week, 2-3 times, and they have not been able to get her ‘diabetes’ under control. They keep increasing the insulin which doesn’t seem to be helping. This is unbelievable that this is happening again (ie the dog/cat food poisoining from China a year or so ago). Thank you so much for your information, I only wish I had learned sooner.

Take her off of grains. Go buy “the Honest Kitchen” dog food which is a human grade food for dogs and cats. Grains (carbohydrates) make blood sugar go up. Same thing happens in humans. Some diabetics have been able to get off of diabetes meds and are no longer considered diabetic now. They cut their carbohydrates down to 20, 30 grams a day. Animals need a species appropriate diet, NOT grains! The high blood sugar levels from eating grains can cause a variety of inflammatory diseases.

I gave my pit/mastif Vincent just two of the chicken jerky on Thanksgiving night. By 3:30 am he was throwing up all over the place.By 11am he was refusing any food. Thinking just a belly ache, we waited. By 5pm his breathing was odd and started eliminating blood. Vet bill was $ 300.00 after blood work and meds.These findings are being reported by my vet. I just started writing to Milos(no response yet).I’d like these products recalled. I bet Milo has never tried his own chinese chicken.

A friend told me about Chinese dog food issues, primarily with Chicken Jerky, a few days ago. I did not pay attention to the packaging and read that MILO’S KITCHEN was distributed by San Francisco, Ca. I assumed that it was made in the US. That is what I get for making assumptions. Ariel became dehydrated, urinating excessively, and has thrown up multiple times. Before researching this product, I assumed she ate something that upset her stomach. I am keeping an eye on her and she appears to be her normal self, with the exception of excessive drinking. I am going to contact the vet and if there is ANY possibility of an illness due to MILO’S KITCHEN products, not only will the company be hearing from me, so will ALL stores selling this product and ANY product from China! I am not Ariel’s owner, I am her parent and I will make sure she is protected and the responsible parties own up to their unethical and immoral mistake!

Please read all dog treat bags carefully. Although Milo’s Kitchen is distributed from CA, if you look at the very bottom it states Made in China. It is amazing how many dog treats are made in China, even American Kennel treats. Treats made in America are extremely expensive. I think I will try to make my own

You don’t need to feed your dogs treats. They will not feel like you must not love them if they don’t get treats. Feed dogs a species appropriate diet and if you are training your dog and need to do rewards you can look around for a whole food treat. Do Not give any processed food to your dog.

Hi Lezlee,
I fully agree with species appropriate diets. I agree that wheat, corn and soy must be eliminated from diets as well as gluten-grains. Diets high in protein, moderate in fat, low in carbs is what I generally talk about for healthy dogs. Regarding treats – healthy treats in moderation – given for behavioral rewards are fine in my opinion. Especially when we’re talking about healthy dogs of proper weight. If one has a dog who will do a back flip for a slice of cucumber, great! She’s super lucky. I’m not as fortunate. For my pack a piece of dehydrated chicken, beef, lamb, salmon, turkey works. It’s just that one ingredient, USDA approved for human consumption.

I don’t have a dog. But I fall in love with my neighbor dog Husky. We are best friends.
I had been buying for her treats ..Not just any brand – he top shelf stuff Milo’s Kitchen “home style” brand Chicken Jerky ( second bag almost gone) and she accepted me and the product very-very happy .
So far ,thank God,!!! .she doesn’t show any problem signs.
I was not aware of MIlo’S chicken treats hurting dogs Now I’m scared to death..I feel so guilty,

Thank you for making me aware of Milo’s products. I also have been giving my Westie Milo’s chicken jerky and also noticed that he was acting sickly with diarrhea and not wanting to eat anything. I will make my friends also aware of this terrible product.

Please people…DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM CHINA!!! I have been saying this for years. They do not care about their own people, what makes you think they are going to care about the animals ? They are sick..Have you seen the videos where they skin animals alive for their fur? Our pets are who im talking about. They steal peoples pets and beat them unconcious and then skin then and throw them in a pile to die of shock!! Their food is toxic for the pets…If you see something you want to buy for your pet and it says distributed in USA look further down to see that its actually made in China!! Then throw it back on the shelf. You need to tell the pet store people that you will no longer buy products from them if they cant sell american made treats for our animals. It is that simple..Your animals life depends upon it.

And another product that makes me cringe. I was feeding my dogs the “wagon train” chicken jerkey treats until I found out they were also made in China and causing kidney failure. So today I was at Target and saw “Milo’s Kitchen” treats, looked at the bag and saw that it states: Made in the USA (beef jerkey), but now that I know they only make some of their treats here I will no longer buy them and in fact this bag of garbage I bought today is going in the trash. I recently told the lady at the feed store where I purchase my dogs food that I will not buy anything that isn’t made in the US. She looked at me like I was crazy, but I don’t care I love my animals and refuse to give them something that will/can harm them. I’m sorry to all of you that have pets that are now paying the price, it’s unfortunate that this type of garbage is still on the shelves. My prayers go to you and your pets. Please everyone, stop buying this junk,ans anything not made in the USA!

I was at petsmart the other day looking for rawhide that is made here in the USA, could not find any whatsoever…It all came from China, Mexico, Indonesia and Equador, and they all stated to wash your hands after handling the rawhide…Like im going to give my pet something that i need to wash my hands with soap and water after touching!! I asked the clerk if they carried any USA rawhide and she said no, i told her about what i had read on the MIlo’s Kitchen Treats and she said its all hearsay, they have no actual proof that the treats have contributed to the illnesses of the animals and thats why they dont pull it from the shelves. She also told me that none of the employees will even buy rawhide from there, or anything made in China, yet they continue to sell it…Shame on them!!

today i bought milo kitch chicken meatballs to my three dogs. i gave it to them at noon and by 3 pm they were all throwing up yellow milky vomit. in the vomit it also had small pieces of chicken. by six pm my terrier was dead. i only feed my dogs once a day in the evening so this was the only thing they had eaten. my other dogs are also throwning up. please if you love your dogs like i loved them BEWARE DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. they need to recall this product cause it is NO GOOD . People dont know these pets are like family and it hurts to lose any animal. :(

Milo’s Kitchen is part of DelMonte. Their chicken jerky killed my little Lacy…a long haired chihuahua…barely 4 pounds~! 1 treat~!! And MANY other dogs have died~!! Other brands have also caused dogs to die & get sick. Please help save other dogs from dying. GOOGLE ‘chicken jerky from China” for more info. The FDA has known this for a long time & done nothing!! Spread the word about deadly chicken jerky for dogs being sold.

Clearly, this is corporate greed at the expense of our beloved family member pets, Profits above anything and not one company stands up to the plate and recalls their crap. Milo’s also make meatball treats that small dogs choked on and died from. No recall there either, just a splash sticker on the package to tell the consumer to break up the meatball before giving it to your pet, it would dip into corporate profits and executive bonus’s to recall these either!

I’ve tossed all the store bought treats into the garbage and now make my own. 4 lbs of ground meat (I use turkey), 2 cups oatmeal, 4 eggs, 2 Tbls. of cornstarch, 1 tsp. of salt (optional). Mix well and shape into 1″ meatballs. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Divide it into baggies. I keep one baggie in the fridge and freeze the rest until I need them. That’s it. Very simple and very good for my kids – they LOVE them!

We’ve created a video that explains exactly what’s going on in China from pesticides, feed additives, heavy metals, coal tar, and other substances that are impacting everything from the human to the pet food in China. Please help save a life – by watching and sharing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REYUueMZjJA&feature=colike

My two years chihuahia is now hospitalized due to Milos dog treats. It was amazing for me that at the begiining he accepted the product very happy and soon started to refuse to it. Now is in bad condition, hospitalized, getting intravenous fluids and maybe he is going to die becasu of that chineses poison. I am so sorry for my dog.

I invite people having lost pets due to the compsumption of Milos Kitchen products to initiate a legal action against the factory that poisoned our poor animals. If somebody knows an attorney capable of help us pleas contact himo and contact all of us. My email is orlandolopezdegarcia@msn.com
We have to stop these crimes. Let’s sue the criminals.
Orlando Lopez Garcia
Miami, FL

To the best of my knowledge the chicken jerky from Milo’s Kitchen is the product they physically manufacture in China. USA Made pet food products – as stated on the back of any package – can (and often do) mislead consumers into thinking that the products are made with USA ingredients. Often they are not. I do not know where Del Monte is sourcing their ingredients from for their Beef Jerky but odds are that some of the ingredients are coming from China and/or Thailand. Del Monte does a fair amount of business with those countries. Pet food imports from those countries into the US are also increasing. Depending on the statistics you look at from US Customs and the US Department of Commerce, anywhere from 50% to 70% of pet food imports are coming into the US from China. China is also one of the US’s largest providers of food additives to the US like preservatives, flavorings and colorings. These things are found quite extensively in Milo’s beef jerky.

In addition, to the questions about the source of the ingredients in Milo’s Beef jerky, there should be ample concern about the health safety of the ingredients themselves. Onion extract is included in the beef jerky. Any vet will tell you that onions are toxic to dogs. BHA is a toxic preservative believed to cause cancer; caramel coloring and nitrates have also been linked to cancer. Toward the end of the blog post we did on Milo’s Kitchen you will see health concerns and information on the ingredients they use. https://goodnessgracioustreats.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/it-might-be-in-milos-kitchen-but-its-probably-not-in-yours/

On July 1st we put our wonderful corgi down because of kidney failure. The vet kept asking if there was any way she could have been poisoned. We had only given her (and our other dog) the meatballs every once in a while for a special treat. Emma had been very happy, healthy, and active. This came on all of a sudden and within a month she was gone and our hearts are broken. Now we are watching our little doxie Daisy very closely and having her blood work done up at her vet visit. Praying she is okay. Thank you for the information. I will be sure to pass it on.

I lost my 9 year Old Weimeraner a few weeks to Lymphoma in his stomach. I stumbled on to this article about the Milos Treats and its really made me sick to hear all of this about these treats.

It seems most people are reporting kidney failure but I am wondering if perhaps my dogs problems were also caused by these treats. I had been giving him the meatballs for a while but I cant remember if the time that he got sick….vomiting, dhiarea etc came at the same time that he started eating the Milos treats. After having just about every test done possible the vests couldnt figure out what was wrong with him. That was ultrasounds, xrays, abdomial exploratory surgery. Only after weeks went by of him being sick and not being able to figure out the problem he had an endoscopy and they told me it was lymphoma in the intestines. Im very skeptical now as to weather or not that was the correct diognosis. He was a very healty energetic dog and the symtoms came out of nowhere.

I tried everything but eventually I had to put him down as he was suffering and he had lost almost 20lbs. Im not sure if I can do anything now to figure out if it was these treats that caused his problem, he was my best friend in the world and this makes my blood boil like nothing else. I will do whatever I can to get the word out about these disgusting companies that risk our pets lives for profit.

Put my dog on the list of sickened dogs too, Gunner had a chicken jerky the other night and the next morning he was vomiting and had diareha, VERY BAD….he couldn’t keep ANYTHING down until about 1 in the afternoon. He did a little better from then on but we were worried until then.
hes a 1 year old Border collie, lab mix we think,….he weighs right at 50 lbs normally and lost 6 of that with this issue….Won’t do this again,….Getting rid of Milo’s!!….

I don’t have a dog. But I fall in love with my neighbor dog Husky. We are best friends.
I had been buying for her treats ..Not just any brand – he top shelf stuff Milo’s Kitchen “home style” brand Chicken Jerky ( second bag almost gone) and she accepted me and the product very-very happy . Now I feel so guilty, she asking for treats and I don’t know what to do…
So far , ,thank God!!! she doesn’t show any problem signs.
I was not aware of MIlo’S chicken treats hurting dogs

Confused…I have been giving my beagle and 14 year old terrier Milos chicken treats for a year now, they love them, and get one piece after dinner. I guess I have been lucky so far, but I will not feed it to them anymore because of the glycerin and other unnatural ingredients. Amy, thank you for bringing this information to my attention and possibly saving my pets from a premature death.

our dog charlotte 6 years old died on september 19 2012 from renal failure due to consuming only 3 milo’s chicken jerky treats out of a bag. never had them before. horriblye suffering especially for her and her family. no excuse for this crap to still be on the shelves. we live in NC but its oblivious this problem is country wide!

6 days ago I regrettably fed my dog a Milo’s Kitchen chicken jerky strip….5 days ago he became lethargic, 3 days ago he started vomiting, then came the bloody diarrhea and 105 temp! He is now hospitalized and we are unsure if he will make it. This is heart breaking to watch and this company should be ashamed of themselves!!

My Toy Poodle (6 pounds) got hold of a Milo Sausage and almost chocked to death. She had to have surgery to try to remove the piece of their Beef Sausage. It was not totally successful, but she is alive. I have to hand feed her and try to keep her away from anything over 7mm or she chocks. She has had surgery twice and had a feeding tub for over 4 months. It has been very expensive ( over $3000.00 in vet bills) trying to keep her alive from 1 piece of Milo’s Kitchen Beef Sausage. I can’t believe they still sale this stuff. If anyone knows of a law suite, I’d be interested. They shouldn’t be allowed to sale this stuff.

I have had my dog, Marley, for two weeks now (the happiest 18 month old Pit mix rescue). As I’m trying out different treats and reading lables and ingredients I find there are some that sound downright delicious and, I suspect, better than a lot of treats for humans! A friend brought a bag of Milo’s Kitchen, and like any new mother, I read the ingredients immediatley. The red flag for me was onion extract. Is it not common knowledge that onions are bad for dogs? I’m two weeks in and I know this. Thanks for breaking down the ingredients and what they do! I’m definitly chucking this bag of “treats” in the garbage-unopened! And I’ll be looking for Goodness Gracious treats the next time I’m shopping for treats!